Quinnipiac Poll: NYC Residents Want Their Own Wal-Mart

A majority of New York City voters say they want city officials to allow Wal-Mart to open stores in the five boroughs even as Mayor Bill de Blasio continues to oppose such a move, a new poll has found.

According to a Quinnipiac University poll of 1,108 registered voters conducted July 3-Aug. 4, 55 percent are in support of Wal-Mart stores opening, and 64 percent say they would shop there if it were convenient.

But New York City voters do have mixed opinions of the retail giant. While 71 percent say shoppers would benefit from Wal-Mart’s lower prices, 70 percent believe Wal-Mart would hurt smaller businesses. And 55 percent think Wal-Mart doesn’t pay enough in wages and medical benefits.

Meanwhile, The Huffington Post reported that New York City may pull its investments in Wal-Mart and other major chains that sell guns and ammunition, just two years after it withdrew its investments from the country’s biggest gun manufacturers.

"Our nation is bleeding from gun violence, and we cannot and should not bolster the gun retailers whose weapons are used to kill and maim our citizens," said Public Advocate Letitia James, who introduced legislation, according to the Post.

"Our public money must not be invested in companies that fundamentally undermine our public safety," she added. "We need to study the potential consequences and risks of continuing to own equity and fixed income holdings in gun retailers whose weapons and ammunition reach the streets, towns and cities across our country."

The wide-ranging poll also found that New York City voters think de Blasio and other politicians tried to stymie the expansion of Uber taxi service because they receive generous political donations from the taxi industry.

Specifically, 65 percent believe elected officials were driven by campaign contributions in the case of Uber, instead of the best interests of the city, and the service has a 42 percent favorability rating.

Forty-seven percent oppose the proposal to limit Uber cars and do not believe that the reason for the proposed limitation was due to concerns about traffic.

"Mayor Bill de Blasio was forced to back-track on his plan to limit the number of cars Uber could use, probably a good idea since more voters oppose the cap," the Quinnipiac poll's assistant director, Maurice Carroll, said in a statement.

"Why did officials try to limit Uber? Because they got political donations from the taxi industry, voters think. That argument that curbing Uber would cut traffic congestion? 'Baloney!' voters say."

A majority of New York City voters say they want city officials to allow Wal-Mart to open stores in the five boroughs even as Mayor Bill de Blasio continues to oppose such a move, a new Quinnipiac University poll has found.